6 Ways High Street Shops Can Influence Your Website Design

Working on a new website for your business? If so, there is a lot of inspiration you can take from physical retail outlets and high street stores. There are plenty of similarities between a successful store and a profitable website. We’re going to go through some of the most important factors with you today.

They look clean, tidy and welcoming

When you walk into a successful and popular high street store, they look clean and tidy. There is no clutter anywhere, and they have a clear definition of sections and product areas. You have to treat your website the same, to make it easy for your customers to focus in on the information they need. Avoid busy and cluttered design that makes it hard for people to see what you do straight away. You only have a few seconds to make an impression – it’s vital that you make them count.

It’s easy to find things

It’s simple to find what you’re looking for in a high street store. Signage will point you to the right department, and it’s clear to everyone where they need to go. Make sure the same can be said about your online presence with clear and obvious navigation. Signpost anything that your customers might want to see. Consider everything from your best selling products to your different services and departments.

It’s up to date

When you walk into an offline shop, you will notice if things look dated or aren’t being looked after properly. It’s the same principle for an online store or ecommerce site. You should look to refresh your site with the help of a Website Design Company every so often. If it looks just like it did 3-4 years ago, it’s unlikely to fit with current trends.

It’s helpful

In a physical store, you have lots of employees to help give your customers vital information and a lot of help about products and services. You don’t have that online, of course. But, you do have lots of tools to help, such as blogs, product descriptions, and FAQ pages. Make sure you give your customers everything they need in the form of helpful blog posts and preempt all their questions.

It’s in a good location

The location is critical to the success of any retail outlet. The closer a shop is to the high street, the more footfall it will see from passing trade. You have to take this concept to your online store, too – through using SEO. SEO can get you that high street location, and pull in visitors who are looking for the products you sell.

It’s easy to pay

Finally, successful stores understand that they have to make it easy for their customers to pay and leave. Of course, there will be times when the queues go crazy – especially over the Christmas period. But, good stores offer a variety of payment options these days. The will all have the sales desk, of course, but some may have handheld terminals to use on the shop floor. There are self-pay terminals, too, of course. Think about this when you design your site and give people several ways to pay for your products. Don’t just take cards, but also think about using PayPal or similar services.